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Chicago-class
The Chicago-class cruiser is the Earth Federation's primary cruiser line in Mobile Suit Gundam Alpha. 'Appearance' This one's based on the refitted Clop-class cruiser from Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. Aside from the change in color scheme to standard grey and dark blue, as well as an overall sleeker design, there isn't really much other difference. 'Technology & Combat Characteristics' Essentially a scaled down version of the Montana-class battlecruiser, the Chicago-class was made from the ground up to be the backbone of the Earth Federal Forces. Designed to be a jack of all trades, the Chicago-class was capable of performing any kind of given role, such as long-range patrolling, homeworld and star system defense, interdiction, commerce raiding, deep infiltration into enemy territory and of course full-on assaults against enemy fleets and fortifications. For whatever role they may perform, these ships were armed with four beam cannons (two per turret) for long-range bombardments, sixteen beam phalanx for point-defense and twelve missile launchers for heavy-duty firepower. As well, these ships were equipped with hangars and catapult decks for mobile suits, of which it could carry six (two teams) at a time. 'Armaments' *'Beam Cannon' :Main armament. As one can see from the name, these cannons are more powerful than standard beam weapons, such that they hold enough destructive force to obliterate an enemy cruiser in a single barrage. Alongside, that same power also allows them to be used against targets well beyond visual range. However, this is offset by their slower rate of fire, which makes them highly ineffective in the point defense role. As a special note, though the Chicago-class only carries two beam cannon turrets, they are powerful enough to destroy or heavily damage any opposition the Chicago is expected to face. *'Beam Phalanx' :Secondary armament. While far less powerful than beam cannons, these smaller guns have a greater rate of fire, making them especially suited for point defense against enemy mobile suits, missiles and other small craft, as well as against other warships at close-ranges. The Chicago-class in particular carriers sixteen of these around its hull. *'Missile Launcher' :Secondary armament. The Chicago-class carries twelve missile tubes in its bow, allowing it to enact full on missile barrages against enemy fleets. As well, these tubes can hold and launch a wide number of missile types, from standard high explosive weapons to beam diffusion warheads to even nuclear missiles. Its targeting system is also particularly advanced, such that very few unit types are able to evade a lock on. 'System Features' *'Warp Drive' :The Chicago-class carries warp drive, thereby allowing it to travel along interstellar routes in only a matter of days' time. 'History' The workhorse of the Federal Forces. Designed and manufactured several years before the First Galactic War as a cruiser derivative of the larger Montana-class battlecruiser, the Chicago-class cruiser has now become the most commonly seen ship in the Earth Federation space fleets. By the time the war had begun, the Federal Forces already had hundreds of these ships in operation, all ready to meet the Outer Power onslaught with equal force. At the beginning of the First Galactic War, the Chicago-class suffered heavy casualties due to the combination of the Outer Powers' surprise attacks and, as with many other Federation units, the superiority of Outer Power (particularly Zeon) mobile suits. Though the Chicago-class possessed enough firepower to ward off enemy capital ships, its onboard Guncannons were inadequate against the likes of Imperial Zakus ''or Cosmo Babylonian ''Denan Zons; as such Outer Power units would have no trouble breaking through the cruisers' defense lines. For this and a combination of other reasons, fleet commanders would deploy Chicagos ''in large numbers to make up for their weaknesses, usually in tight formations in order to coordinate their firepower and mobile suit units. Later on however, with the deployment of the new ''GM series of mobile suit, Chicagos ''were more capable of warding off enemy attacks, and as such were more often deployed deeper into enemy territory than ever before. Although the ''Chicago-class would suffer even more causalities throughout the remainder of the war, they proved to be greatly effective ships, and so the Federation would continue to service them for many years to come.